Lauranne Van den Heede (BE) woont in Brussel, het centrum van haar creatieve speeltuin. De stad herbergt de centrale figuren in haar leven die haar inspireren en vreugde schenken. In 2018 behaalde ze haar masterdiploma Documentaire regie aan het RITCS. Intussen regisseerde ze twee korte documentaires, EEN REDELIJK LEVEN (2019) en RADIO FELIX (2020). Beide werden vertoond op de Belgische televisie en Radio Felix werd geselecteerd voor verschillende filmfestivals. In haar werk is ze sterk aangetrokken tot sociaal-maatschappelijk geëngageerde thema's die bij haar sterke emoties oproepen. Deze tracht ze op een poëtische, humane te vertalen. Haar eigen filosofische zoektocht naar zingeving en de aanvaarding van veranderlijkheid, beïnvloedt haar blik.
Lauranne Van den Heede (BE) lives in Brussels, the centre of her creative playground. The city which houses those central figures in her life who inspire her and give her joy. In 2018 she obtained her Master degree Documentary film at the film academy RITCS. Meanwhile she directed two short documentaries, A REASONABLE LIFE (2019) and RADIO FELIX (2020). Both were screened on Belgian television and Radio Felix was selected for several film festivals. In her work, she is strongly attracted to socially engaged themes that elicit a great deal of emotion from her. She tries to translate these in a poetic, humane way. Her own philosophical search for meaning and acceptance of mutability, influences her gaze.
What do you expect to learn from a residency in Bosacademie?
Het Bos offers me the mental and physical space to think beyond the 2D (cinema) screen. In different ways the 3D reality opens doors in my process, new perspectives and possibilities offer themselves. I explore with fresh eyes how touch, movement and smell can interact with my work. It gives me a certain kind of freedom that strongly stimulates my imagination. Furthermore, conversation and feedback are essential elements in my creative process, helping me to organize my thoughts, to find the essence in the myriad of ideas and they are a great source of inspiration. A silent dream is that I can incorporate the medium of video installation - and the spatial thoughts that come with it - into my professional future. Het Bos excites me with new impulses, the smell of fresh tomato sauce, the reverberation in the expo space, the possibility to dance in it, the clinking of ice cubes in my coffee. It is like a playground in which I can experiment and create, by trial and error.
Tell us about your favourite medium.
In many ways the camera offers me an excuse to peek inside thoughts, lives and bedrooms which I would normally not meet or enter. Moreover it gives me a chance to participate profoundly in the lives of people with whom I would not dare have a deep conversation in everyday life. It gives me a kind of self-awareness and confidence. Although it must be handled with great care and respect, it allows me to break a certain wall that exists between me and the unknown other. Even though it is something that physically stands between me and the other, I can feel very close and connected to the other person while holding the camera. It helps me capture tenderness and vulnerability. Through the other I learn to see myself and get to know myself better. The camera, in many ways, is a beautiful, but sometimes dangerous medium. I’m very much aware of the effect it has on people, situations and what impact it can have. Sometimes I wonder if I create in order to understand the world, rather than to create an sich.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration at unexpected moments and in the smallest details; a brush stroke, a scene in a film, music, a podcast, two hands that touch tenderly, light falling through the window in a certain way, the lapping of the sea. I highly value beauty. I believe it goes hand in hand with emotion. Yet the greatest source of inspiration are stories that somehow touch and unsettle me deeply. Often very humane stories about people who are confronted with inequality, people who have to fight against an unfair system or against history. I come across these stories in the street, through encounters, but often also through journalism. Another theme that worries me more every year and manages to trigger a great emotion in me is climate change and the ominous future that seems to be heading our way.
When is your favourite time of day to create?
Unlike many other artists (or at least I have that impression), my most creative and productive time of the day is the morning. When all is still and the city is half awake, half asleep, when the birds are chirping and everyone is processing their dreams or getting through their hangovers with a first coffee in their hands. When the light is clear blue or golden and the air is chilly, that is when my creative energy is highest and I get most ideas. The moment of reflection that sleep gives me and the amount of thoughts being processed by my dreams, gives me room in my brain for inspiration and new ideas to enter.
Describe how art is important to society.
Art has the ability to shed a new light, to show a different perspective on the world and therefore on society. Art can evoke emotion, an important driving force to rethink fixed ideas or to approach matters differently. Moreover, I believe that humour, in addition to emotion, is a key factor in tackling socially relevant themes. The artists I find most inspiring are often also those who ingeniously and often subtly broach socially relevant topics in their work. As a filmmaker, I am very aware of this power of our medium. Art is still one of the few critical voices in our society that is - although too little - considered relevant. I find it almost the artist's duty to make use of this power.